Each one of you reading these words right now is worried about something.
We worry over the fear of losing a job, or of not having enough money to pay the bills, or of a looming health crisis. We worry about an addition to the family, a relationship dispute, or any of life’s myriad challenges. We are prone to worry about everything!
For some of you, the worry is mild…maybe even microscopic. For others, it’s severe. But in all cases, this Worry War is clouding your connection with God.
This bold view comes from my own personal experience off and on for my entire walk with Christ. And it was not a pretty sight in the beginning. Many of my battles with worry back then were protracted, bloody, and mass-casualty engagements. In fact, scanning that battlefield today produces much pain.
Though I would never “sign up” for such carnage, God has equipped me to knock down this formidable foe. And that’s why I want to share the story with you in hopes it resonates with your current life circumstances.
I will start my Worry War reflections by emphasizing that victory did not come because my life had “smoothed out” and it was easier to worry less. Not a chance. Stopping the Worry War for me actually came as worry was escalating to unimaginable levels in my life. It was then that I SURRENDERED and gave it all to God.
Christians are not immune to worry’s destructiveness. Nonetheless, it is still a tough task to address this persistent question—How can I be connected to God and living a life of obedience and yet still have to worry about the same things everyone else does?
The answer is that this is earth, not heaven, and we need to keep giving God our everything.
When we exclude God from the equation, we necessarily reduce the supernatural power available to help us defeat our worry foe. The trials and tribulations of life will not cease, but that is not the question. The question is whether we panic or pray. Worry or win the war.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
The self is the greatest burden we have to carry and it is the most difficult thing we have to manage. The self hangs onto many of the fears that can defeat us in the worry war, including temptations, weaknesses, bondages, darkness, and our own confusing dispositions.
We worry when we fail to trust God completely. My daily prayer is to have God teach me how to fully surrender and embrace the truth that all things in heaven and earth are bound to the fabric of his sovereignty.
How about you? Are you engaged in a Worry War? What move could you make TODAY to de-escalate the conflict?
